“Jenna brought some of her family’s homemade wine to share.” I just remembered she’d tucked it into her purse before we left her parents’ place. “Do you mind if I get that for us to enjoy?”
“Wine would be perfect,” the three of them spoke together, and I grabbed Jenna’s hand, pulling her off the sand and back to the front door with me.
“It’s, uh—it’s on the right side of my purse,” she said when we were alone.
“Noted.” I grabbed it and whispered, “Do you mind if we skip dinner and get the fuck out of here?”
“That’s up to you,” she said. “It’s your family.”
“Be honest,” I said. “On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest, how badly do you want to leave?”
“Twenty.”
“I thought so.”
“Fake a coughing spell in fifteen minutes,” I said. “One of the good ones, not the half-ass one you do at work to get away from me.”
She smiled. “Okay.”
“Have you two ever realized how in sync your bodies are?” Celestial Dad #1 asked from the doorway. “I bet you two have out-of-this-world sex, huh?”
“Make it five minutes,” Nicholas whispered harshly. “Please…”
13B
JENNA
“Remember, hon.” Nicholas’s mom slid one of her polyamory cards into my coat pocket as we stood near the front door. “Don’t let my son convince you that you have to stick to one person for the rest of your life.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she said, still whispering. “I was madly in love with his father, and I wish we got to have forever together, but… I wouldn’t dare inflict the years of loneliness and pain on anyone else.”
“I…” I bit my lip. That was better than saying anything.
“You have to let your heart and your pussy breathe.” She patted my shoulder. “Now, make sure he shares a bit of his inheritance money with you, because I’m sure that’s the only reason he’s getting married.”
“I’m getting married because I’m in love with Jenna.” Nicholas was suddenly behind us. “Nice try, though.”
The words sounded truthful coming out of his mouth, but I spotted Mr. Reaves sipping a cup of tea nearby.
Of course…
“Okay, well—” She hugged him closely. “She has to love you back to be able to put up with you for longer than a week, because the millions wouldn’t be enough for me.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
“Love you, son.”
“We love you as well, son!”
“Yeah, love you, Nicholas!”
“I love you, son!”
His dads—stepdads—celestial soulmates?—shouted from inside.
He ignored them without so much as a glance.
